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Christ's Church finds new home in Fort Morgan

ByDAN BARKER Times News Editor

Posted:
01/23/2013 08:34:47 PM MST

Pastor Gene Dalrymple stands at the new home of Christâ s Church, which his congregation purchased from The Sanctuary church in December. The independent church had been looking for a home for about a year.
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Christ's Church would like to restore its new congregational home to its historic condition -- and is asking people who might have photos of the inside to let its officials take a look at them in order to make that happen.

Christ's Church took over what has been The Sanctuary for a number of years. It sits at the corner of East Beaver Avenue and State Street in Fort Morgan.

Pastor Gene Dalrymple said his research could indicate it was the site of the very first church building in Northeastern Colorado. A Presbyterian church set up there in 1886, records he's checked indicated. That was rebuilt a couple of times, finally ending with the current structure, which was built in 1906.

The sanctuary at the new Christâ s Church will give the congregation room to grow.
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When the Presbyterian Church built a new place on Riverview Avenue in the 1970s, the Assembly of God took it over, and that congregation later renamed it The Sanctuary.

Christ's Church is a completely independent congregation, not affiliated with any other church organization, Dalrymple said. It was formed in 2001 and had its first meetings at the armory building in Fort Morgan.

Later, the members held services at the Fort Morgan Senior Center, and then started using space at the Seventh Day Adventists Church in Fort Morgan from 2004 until last month.

It was getting a bit crowded at the Seventh Day Adventists, and mid-week activities were difficult, he said.

The new home of Christ's Church is about the right size for its members now.

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With the sanctuary seating about 250 people, it leaves some room to grow, Dalrymple said.

Christ's Church is a fellowship of local believers, with local leadership, not tied to any national or regional group, he said.

It began as a way to get back to Bible basics, Dalrymple said.

It is a grace and mercy-oriented church and welcomes people whose lives are not perfect. It is an open fellowship that welcomes whoever comes in the door. It offers both singles and divorced ministries, he said.

Pastor Gene Dalrymple works on a wall at Christâ s Church to repair some of the damage that has occurred over the years. He worked renovating homes for a time, which is coming in handy now.
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It also offers full-immersion baptism.

Christ's Church believes that Jesus is the only way to God, the Father, but it does not have a lot of dogma, Dalrymple said.

Members believe that individuals have their own personal relationships between themselves and Jesus, he explained.

Christ's Church offers a program called the Daughters of Defiance, which helps young women and girls to value themselves and have self-worth. The idea is for them to see that they are loved by Christ, Dalrymple said.

He said that the church is looking to start a similar program for boys.

Dalrymple was one of the 17 founding members of Christ's Church. While the church hired a pastor from 2002-04, the congregation asked Dalrymple to take that role when the other pastor left.

Dalrymple had completed a degree from the Summit Theological Seminary of Indiana. He said he had initially just earned it to be a better student and teacher -- never envisioning becoming a pastor.

Dalrymple spent 20-plus years in the trucking industry and worked in renovating and re-selling homes.

That last came in handy, since he is now scraping down the walls and doing other repair work to bring the building back into its best condition, he said.

Worship services are held at 10 a.m. each Sunday, with Sunday school at 9 a.m.

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